National Football Foundation

The Johnson story fills a glowing chapter in American family histories. First there was William F. Johnson, a good student and heavyweight boxer at Michigan State. He settled in Cleveland, Tennessee; he and his wife, Aletta, raised four sons. Three of the boys were starting centers for the University of Tennessee football team - Bob 1965-1967, Tom 1970-1972, and Paul, 1973-1975. They wore uniform numbers 54, 53, and 52. The fourth son, Bill, was a student trainer, pre-med scholar; he's now a surgeon. This is Bob Johnson's record: in high school, team captain, honor student, Eagle Scout; in college, team captain, unanimous All-America, National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete, winner of the Jacobs Trophy as Southeastern Conference's best blocker; in pro football, first draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals, team captain 11 years. Bob won more college honors: Knoxville Journal Trophy as best scholar on the team (B-plus in Industrial Engineering); center on the Southeastern Conference Quarter Century Team; president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Bob settled in Glendale, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati and became president of Imperial Adhesives Corporation. "Football," he says "gave me confidence - made me a doer instead of a watcher." 

Johnson was the very first draft selection by the Cincinnati Bengals franchise, taken second overall in the 1968 NFL Draft. He played 12 seasons with the Bengals and his No. 54 is the only number retired by the franchise. Following his retirement as a player, Johnson worked as a color analyst on Bengals radio from 1981 to 1985. In 1989, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.